Spiraling Water, Under The Black Moon
by ForsakenHate
Summary: Ichigo has failed to defeat Yhwach, but the Spirit King grants him a second chance at life in another world. Watch as Ichigo rises through the Ninja world, protecting all those he holds dear! FemRokubi x Ichigo pairing. Rated M for violence, strong language and possibly future mature content.
1. A Second Chance

**Zankutou Bougen!-**

 **Getsuga Juujishou!-**

"This is the end...Yhwach!-"

"DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE YOU CAN KILL ME?! THINK AGAIN MORTAL!-"

 _Slash!_

 _Crunch!_

 _Boom!_

" **BANKAI!-"**

" **VOLLSTANDIG!-"**

"OOOOOOHHHHHHH!-"

"ORRRRIIIYYAAA!-"

"Kurosaki Ichigo…You may have defeated me in battle but you have not won this war!" The Quincy Kaiser brought his hand up before chanting aloud-

" **Heilige Schatten der Welt Skript!"**

Almost instantaneously, the area around the Substitute Shinigami began to warp as black tendrils of darkness clawed at his body. Bringing his shorter Zangetsu up to defend himself, Ichigo tried to resist, only to be met with a mocking laughter.

"It's useless, Kurosaki Ichigo...This technique was meant to be used on the soul king, so I could banish him from this world. You see, for gods such as he and I, we simply cannot be killed, we just reincarnate after a good thousand years or so." He spoke mockingly.

"Shit! I can't break free!" yelled the frustrated dual wielder as he tried to cut his way out of the endless pit of null.

"Once your body is completely submerged you shall be tossed into limbo and flung through the fabric of space time...this is the end Kurosaki Ichigo, **my son born in darkness.** " The king of Quincies spoke in an almost apologetic tone, watching as the remainder of Ichigo's head began to disappear.

" _I lost…"_

" _Now everyone's going to die…"_

" _It's all my fault…"_

' _I'm so weak…'_

"FUCK! WHY AM I STILL SO FUCKING WEAK?!" Yelled at the top of his lungs unable to come to terms with the reality that was now laid before him.

" **I wouldn't say you're weak. The right phrase would be, you're not strong enough perhaps?"** A mysterious voice echoed in the empty void.

"Huh?! Who's there? Show yourself!" Ichigo yelled, clearly surprised at hearing the voice, and in a place where he thought was devoid of anything.

Before the Quincy Shinigami hybrid's very eyes an almost angelic figure appeared, illuminating the black void of the present lifeless and empty world.

" **I am the Soul King. A pleasure to finally make sure acquaintance, Kurosaki Ichigo."** Spoke the divine entity.

The soul king seemed to be a pale skinned man, so pale in fact his skin seemed to be composed of snow. He had hair pulled behind his head into a pony tail, and wore a silky looking kimono that seemed to be made out of gold thread. The most noticeable feature he adorned was his eyes, which seemed to be dark purple with triangle like shapes decorating it.

"Wait if you're the soul king, aren't you supposed to be in the soul palace?" Ichigo asked confusedly not quite understanding what was happening.

" **I am indeed still in my palace young one."** Replied the stoic God.

"I'm not sure I follow…"

" **As a god, I am omnipresent, so therefore I exist anywhere and everywhere all at once."** Explained the king of spirits.

"Huh, that must be pretty convenient." Thought Ichigo allowed causing the soul king to chuckle at the teenaged boy's antics.

" **Indeed it is, but as much as I'd enjoy some idle chatter with you Kurosaki Ichigo I must get to the point."** Spoke the divine being instantly becoming serious causing Ichigo to follow suit. **"As we speak Yhwach is making his way over to my personal chamber, and since I am currently in a weakened state due to reasons that I must skip over for time's sake, I won't be able to stop him I'm afraid."**

Ichigo's eyes were instantly filled with regret and sorrow, something the soul king noticed right away. **"Do not fret child, you shall live to see another day."**

"What?! If you haven't noticed I'm kind of trapped in wherever the hell Yhwach sent me." The Shinigami Daikou spoke pessimistically.

" **That won't be a problem, with the remainder of my power I shall open up the fabric of space time and send you to another universe."** State the all-powerful being causing Ichigo's eyes to widen considerably.

"If you can send me to another dimension then send me back to the soul palace! I can still save everyone!" Roared Ichigo, a new fire of hope filling his brown eyes.

"I cannot do that, this world is being saving and you know it." That statement crushed the hope he had gained a second ago **. "And even if I did send you back, you'd be defeated in an instant, your previous battle with Yhwach has severely drained your strength. You'd simply die in vain, would you rather die regretting the decisions you have made in life or start anew and continue forward? Choose wisely Kurosaki Ichigo..."**

"I-I..."Ichigo for the first time in his life, was at a complete loss for words. And who could blame him, he had just been asked to make the hardest decision in his life. To die fighting for all those you hold dear, but ultimately ending up losing everything anyway and dying in vain or be granted a second life, one where he could start afresh. It was truly a tough choice especially for someone who hadn't had much time to live in general.

But Ichigo knew none of his friends, family and loved ones would want him to make a decision he'd regret making later on. Ichigo closed his eyes as a single tear slipped out, he steadied his breathing and calmed himself.

" _Ichigo...No matter what decision you make I will always be by your side, forever."_ Came the baritone voice of one of his Zanpaktou, Zangetsu.

" _Yeah, we've got your royal back, King."_ His other Zanpaktou commented with a slight mocking tone, trying to lift the mood.

"Thanks guys, I really owe you both, big time."

" _You can start paying us back by picking the second option, I'm just saying."_ The masked clad spirit retorted offhandedly causing Ichigo to smile sadly. He knew his Zanpaktou didn't give two shits about anyone but him, since they were Ichigo himself they wanted what was best for him and that was to move forward, persevere and live on.

" **It seems that you have steeled your resolve and come to a conclusion, have you not?"** Asked the mighty god of spirits rhetorically, as if already knowing the answer he was going to be given.

"Yeah..." Ichigo suddenly felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He really was leaving everything behind. Yuzu, Karin, Goat face, chad, Ishida, Inoue, Urahara, Yoruichi, Keigo, Mizuro, Tatsuki, he'd never be able to see them ever again. Many other faces popped up in his head, even those that were his past enemies. But Ichigo new all them would want him to move on, they wouldn't want to hold him down, yeah that's right, they were the greatest friends and family he could have ever asked for...

"Alright, send me off old man." Ichigo asked, his face now showing his unshakable resolve.

" **Very well, goodbye Kurosaki Ichigo, I hope you may ascend to greatness in the next world you arrive in, make sure to do as your name dictates and protect all that needs protecting."** The Spirit king's eyes began to glow a bright purple as he began to gather his remaining spirit energy.

" **Sayonara, my son born in the light. . ."**

And those were the last words Ichigo heard before everything submerged into a numbing blackness.

* * *

It had been a regular day in Konohagakure. Ever since the forth ninja war had happened and ended over 2 years ago, all things seemed well. Crime had gone down by a significant margin though that didn't mean it had completely ended and all the elemental nations were working together in unity to help spread peace over the once darkened land.

A certain spiky blonde ninja had been stuck in Tsunade's office being lectured about all the formalities of being a Hokage. Sure he wanted to be the greatest Hokage ever seen. But did they all really have to do this much paper work? It felt like after every stack, his life span was decreasing. But Tsunade had made sure to drill everything she knew into him. She wasn't going to give up her position to some green horn brat after all!

"Baa-chan, this is so boring can we please take a break?" Naruto pleaded, using the infamous puppy dog eyes.

"Naruto how many times do I have to tell you? If you want to be a good Hokage you must work diligently and not only excel in brawn, but also brain. There's a delicate balance, so quit you're whining!" Tsunade scolded with a stern look. Naruto sighed, he knew that the puppy dog eye technique wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot right? Who could blame him, he had been cooped up in this stuffy room since 9 am! And now it was 5pm! But he couldn't help but suppress a smile, he knew Tsunade only had good intentions, she was passing down all her knowledge onto him so he could become a Hokage that could change the world!

Before he could proceed filling in the infinite stack of papers that lay before him, a sudden shockwave reverberated through all of Konoha, shattering windows and any fragile object alike.

"What the-?!" Naruto nearly fell of his chair, being completely caught off guard by the sudden shock. Though he immediately composed himself and leapt out the window ignoring Tsunade's warning. Naruto quickly surveyed the area whilst hopping from building to building, he instantly noticed a giant plume of black smoke coming from the forest west of Konoha.

Area of the crash.

"Damn...that's definitely gonna leave a mark." Ichigo groaned rubbing his rear, trying to ease the pain out of it. He scanned his surroundings once the aching pain from his backside subsided. _"Huh, seems like I'm in an ordinary forest of some sorts. When the soul king told me I'd be going into another dimension I kinda expected something, more?"_ Ichigo was weirdly disappointed that by that looks of things, this world seemed fairy similar to his previous one.

One thing he could tell for sure was there was something different about the air. Not the atomic structure or anything that complicated like that. It felt a little thicker and richer then what he was used to. But he could clearly tell the air was also filled with Reiryoku. Which made him quirk an eyebrow. This world also had Spiritual energy? Now that was quite strange. He expected the laws of nature to be quite different, or was that just his wild imagination running loose?

Ichigo was too caught up in thought to notice several people quickly approaching him. Naruto had made it first, though several ANBU arrived at the scene moments later. They were quite shocked with what they saw. A teenager it seemed in a black robe covered in white armour stood before them with a very confused expression sitting in the middle of a giant crater. The thing they were shocked at most wasn't his fiery orange hair nor his strange attire. No. it was because absolutely no Chakra could be detected from him. None at all.

Even a civilian had chakra, as small as an amount as it may be, it was still there. If you didn't have chakra then that meant you were dead, simple as. But here was a person completely disregarding that law. He was most certainly alive.

"Identify yourself, intruder." Came the stoic voice of an ANBU captain. Ichigo's gaze instantly flickered over to the new arrivals. He noticed that they had absolutely zero Reiatsu. But he could still sense them somewhat, it was a weird feeling, to sense someone without their Reiatsu signature. "I repeat, identify yourself."

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute Shinigami." Ichigo stated not quite knowing if that title actually held any meaning in this world, but it was what he normally said when people asked who he was so he just replied out of reflex.

"Shinigami?! That's impossible, don't try and fool us, are you a rouge ninja trying to infiltrate our village?" The tone of the ANBU went from emotionless to slightly annoyed after hearing such an absurd statement.

"What the heck, there a freaking Ninjas in this world?!" Ichigo gaped. He didn't expect this at all. He was expecting maybe dragons and goblins, but definitely not ninjas!

The orange haired teen's outburst surprised the elite ninja squad, Naruto included. He spoke as if he had never heard of a ninja in his entire life, and they could tell he wasn't lying. Being an elite Ninja with years of experience had its perks after all, reading emotions was one of them.

"Ichigo's your name right?" Naruto questioned gaining a nod from the Shinigami in question before continuing. "Alright, looks like you're as confused as we are, so why don't you come to the village and talk to Baa-chan, she's in charge and once we're there we can ask a few questions and we can hopefully answer some of yours too." Ichigo looked into Naruto's eye and some he wasn't lying, he hesitated for a second but it seemed like he didn't have much to lose.

"Alright, lead the way." Once Ichigo entered the village he noticed that it was a lot like what he had back home. They seemed to also have a lot of modern day technical equipment like; Laptops, phones and all sorts of electronic gadgets.

They entered a large building situated in the middle of the village. It had a giant Kanji sign for "Fire." _"So these people also use Japanese to speak? That makes sense since they could understand me."_ Ichigo mused as they passed through another door.

"Naruto, I see you've found the cause of that explosion." Came the strong feminine voice of Tsunade Senju. Ichigo took in the appearance of the source of the new voice. The woman had light blonde hair and hazelnut coloured eyes, a busty chest and purple diamond mark on her forehead. "So, who are you?" The Senju questioned with a stern look.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo simply stated.

"Alright Kurosaki, why did you blow up a large chunk of our forest?" Tsunade asked folding her arms under her breasts.

"I didn't blow it up on purpose, I crash landed in it." Ichigo replied honestly.

"Crashed landed from where exactly?"

"Another dimension." The bluntness and sheer absurdity of the answer caused everyone in the entire room to face vault. Even Tsunade nearly tripped upon hearing that. But for some reason she felt that he wasn't lying. Though she wasn't naïve enough to blindly trust some random boy who appeared out of nowhere.

"Neko, bring in Ino, we can use her to make sure he's telling the truth or not." Tsunade ordered getting a swift nod from the Neko ANBU which flickered out of existence. The aged Senju massaged her temples, she had a feeling that things were going to get really, really complicated.

A few awkward moments later the door opened and the ANBU re-entered followed by a platinum blonde girl that seemed to be a little younger then Ichigo or perhaps about the same age, he couldn't really tell.

"Tsunade-sama you called?" Ino asked entering the room behind Neko.

"Yes, I require your expertize. This man here claims to be from another universe, and It seems like he isn't lying, though for obvious reason I cannot believe such a thing so I require your expertize." The Hokage explained briefly. Ino turned her face towards Ichigo with a look that was a mix of scepticism just plain weirded out.

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure he's not just plain crazy or something?" Ino asked not quite believing the situation.

"Hey! I'm standing right here you know!" Ichigo snapped angrily not quite liking being accused of being crazy.

"Baa-chan you know when I fought Kaguya, she could travel between dimensions at will, so thinking that other dimensions other than ours existing isn't too far of a stretch." Naruto finally decided to voice his thoughts.

"Ah, I do remember your report mentioning such a thing, but we still have to make sure, we can never be too careful after all." Tsunade responded logically. Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly shooting Ichigo an apologetic look. To which Ichigo just waved off. To be honest if they weren't this cautious Ichigo would be more surprised.

"Alright then, take a seat carrot top, so we can get this over with as quick as possible." Ino said sighing. The carrot top nickname didn't go unheard as Ichigo shot her a glare before taking a seat.

"What are you going to do?" Ichigo asked curiously, not knowing what was going to happen which didn't help ease his nerves one bit.

"Don't worry I'm just gonna check your memories and see if what you're saying is true or a load of shit." Ino stated bluntly as if it was the most normal thing to do.

"Wait what!? You're going to probe around the insides of my head?!" Ichigo shouted backing away from her.

"It won't hurt trust me, so let's get this over with quickly, or is it that you're actually an attention seeking liar?" Ino questioned crossing her arms.

"Tch, fine..." Ichigo begrudgingly sat back down and let the blonde haired girl do whatever the hell she was gonna do to his poor mind.

Ino ran through her clan's signature hand seals and placed her hand onto the spiky haired teen's head. Almost instantly she was flooded with a countless myriad of emotions, ranging from despair, fear, an unshakable confidence and emptiness. These emotions tugged at her heart as various scenes played through her mind each scene correlating to the emotions she was feeling. Ino was so engrossed in the memories of what was playing in front of her she didn't notice a figure approaching her from behind.

"Hey, what the fuck do you think you're doing snooping around in the King's memories huh?"

Instantly Ino spun around to face the direction of where the new voice was coming from. She was greeted with a very eerie sight. The figure seemed to be a carbon replica of that man that she was currently reading the mind of. Except a few key features. He was completely white as snow from head to toe, not even the hair was spared and he was wearing a very ominous skull shaped mask that had pitch black empty sockets firmly planted on it.

"W-who are you?" Ino involuntarily stuttered, she didn't know why but the very sight of this thing, induced fear into the very recesses of her mind.

"I think you already know who I am don't you? Being the snoopy little bitch you are, or did I interrupt you and you didn't get to see much?" The bleached man asked. Ino didn't get a chance to respond as multiple black cleavers about 6 feet in length surrounded here, ready to skewer her to death if she made a single wrong move. "In any case missy, I suggest you get your skinny ass out of here before you die a very painful death okay?" The tone Hollow Zangetsu was using was one that left no room for arguments.

Not wanting to get decapitated on the spot Ino instantly removed her hand from Ichigo's head and jumped back a little, fear written all over here face.

"What's wrong Ino? Did you get any information?" Tsunade asked.

"W-what the hell are you?!" Ino yelled frightfully.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

" _She might be crazy, you never know."_ His former inner hollow cackled.

" _You did something to her didn't you?"_ Ichigo questioned with a growl.

" _I have no idea what you're talking about king."_ The white Zangetsu replied whilst whistling innocently, this caused Ichigo to pinch the bridge of his nose, trying to calm the giant headache he had just gained. Couldn't he have a regular Zanpaktou? Was that too much to ask? Sighing Ichigo decided to _try_ explain a few things.

"Sorry about that erm, -Ino? That dickish character you just saw was the manifestation of my power, he's a part of me. He probably meant harm but you're alive at least, right?" Ichigo awkwardly tried to cheer her up only for her to back off from him even more.

" _Hey! Who the hell are you calling dickish?!"_

" _Just shut up for a while will you? I'm trying to get some information about the world we are living in and you scaring the living daylight out of everyone is clearly not helping."_ Ichigo responded with an annoyed growl.

" _Tch, fine."_ And with that the inner spirit became silent, which surprised Ichigo, he expected him to fire of a flurry of insults of some sorts but he guessed that even his hollow knew how important getting this information was going to be.

"Alright then is there any questions you want me to answer or can I do some questioning?" Ichigo spoke after an awkward moment of silence.

"Yes there are a few things I'd like to know first if you don't mind." Tsunade responded with a curious expression.

"Sure, ask away."

"What are you? You don't have any Chakra at all. All living things have it, yet here you are a living being that doesn't even have a minute trace of it."

"I'm going to have to ask, what the hell is Chakra?" Ichigo responded flatly, causing Tsunade to face palm, she had forgotten this man was from a completely different dimension where Chakra most probably didn't even exist.

"I won't bore you with the in-depth details about Chakra, but essentially, it is the physical and spiritual energies that exist everywhere and can be produce through the body." Tsunade paused to let Ichigo soak up the new information before continuing. "Chakra is essential to us Shinobi because it allows us to use special techniques by manipulating it through the use of hand seals and other methods. We can utilize it to enhance body movement, breath fire, run on water and a myriad of other things, though my examples don't even scratch the surface of what Chakra allows us to do."

"Ah I see, it's somewhat similar to the energy I have back home." Ichigo mused.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of power _do_ you have?" Tsunade questioned.

"It's called Reiryoku. It is a power that is produce by every living thing and inanimate objects, though only a select bunch of humans can utilize it. Normally the beings that are capable of using it are Shinigami, which I am." That statement left everyone present in the room gaping like a fish. This boy standing in front of them was a God of Death? The Reaper of Souls?

"If a Shinigami is powerful enough, they are then able to commune with their weapon and gain even more extraordinary power, which they can they hone with hundreds of years of training."

"Hundreds of years?! Just how long do you lot live for?" Tsunade asked, surprise written all over her face.

"The more powerful a Shinigami the less they age over time and the longer they can live. Though that may be untrue I haven't actually heard of a Shinigami die of old age..." Ichigo pondered to himself. "Oh, the oldest Shinigami was Yama-ji, he was like over 4000 years old and godly strong." Ichigo mentioned offhandedly. "I'm only 18, so I got a long ass life ahead of me, assuming I don't die in battle or something."

Tsunade became silent, trying to digest the mind blowing information she had just received. In this world there was a Shinigami. And to their limited knowledge about it, there seems to be only one. But from the way this boy was speaking about them in his world, there seemed to be an entire race of them, this sent a slight shiver down her spine. If these Shinigami were anything like the one that inhabited this world they must have been a truly formidable bunch.

"So, what will you do now? You have nowhere to go right?" The Hokage asked after pushing her previous morbid thoughts to the back of her mind.

"I think I'm going to try and find out more about this world, I have a lot of things to learn it seems." Ichigo answered chuckling a little.

"Well, you're always welcome in Konoha, so if you get bored of living life on the road just drop by, got it kid?" That statement was more an order then an invitation, though Ichigo didn't mind at all. It seemed the people here were quite friendly.

"Well I best be going." With that Ichigo disappeared with a burst of Shunpo causing everyone to go wide eyed at the sudden speed displayed by the orange haired enigma.

"Ino, I'd like a full report on what you saw in Ichigo's memories." Tsunade ordered getting a hesitant look from the blonde.

"Tsunade-sama I was "Kicked out" before I could get more information, I saw some things but it wasn't all that much. . ." A chill ran down Ino's spine as she spoke those words. Tsunade didn't quite get what she meant by "Kicked out" but right now any information was valuable information.

"It's fine, just tell me everything you saw in detail ok?" Ino nodded and began her report.

With Ichigo.

" _I said I'd just explore this world on my own, but I actually have no idea where to go..."_ Ichigo was now contemplating if it would have been a better idea to get some sort of map. But it was too late now, he was already a good 30-40 miles away from Konoha, due to the ridiculous speed he possessed. Ichigo had stopped on top of a large pine tree, trying to see if he could find any form of civilization.

Though he didn't spot any village, however he did notice a peddler a few hundred meters in front of him. _"Alright I'll ask for directions and maybe I could ask for a map of this world too."_ With that thought, Ichigo hopped down from the tree and made his way over to the cart. Once he caught up with the cart he jumped straight in front of it and signalled a stopping motion which caused the cart to slow down.

"What can I do for you lad?" Ask the peddler surprisingly politely. The man was plump and stout and had the typical merchant aura and feel about him, he had short curly brown hair and green eyes.

"I was wonder if you had a map of the elemental countries I could maybe have? I'm kinda new here and I'm lost." Ichigo briefly explained.

"Oh my, a lone traveller without a map? That seems rather dangerous don't you think?" The merchant chided.

"Well I forgot to pick one up at the village I was just at, so do you think you could spare one?" Ichigo replied with an embarrassed look scratching the back of his head.

"Unfortunately I only have one copy on me, unless you could magically duplicate it I'm afraid I can't help..." The plump salesmen explained with an apologetic tone.

" _Ichigo, I believe I could be of some assistance."_ The sudden statement from his Quincy Zangetsu caught Ichigo off-guard considering he had been rather silent for a while.

" _What do you have in mind ol' man?"_ Ichigo asked curiously.

" _Let me take over for a moment, it would take too much time to explain what I intend to do, I shall explain it to you later."_ Zangetsu's vague response made Ichigo quirk an eyebrow but he trusted Zangetsu and let him take over.

"May I please see the map for a moment?" The sudden change in voice and posture caused the merchant to gasp in surprise but he simply chalked it up to some Ninja technique he had never heard of it.

"Of course." The merchant pulled out a piece of rolled up paper from his deep pockets and handed it over to Zangetsu. The aged spirit meticulously scanned the sheet of paper, as if absorbing every detail into his mind before a light blue glow began radiating from his body though it died down again.

"Thank you for your kindness." Zangetsu said giving the peddler his map back.

"U-um, you are most welcome, but may I ask what you did?" The merchant asked curiously.

"I merely made a replica of the map." As Zangetsu finished talking he raised his right hand up to waist level and what happened next left the Ichigo and the merchant speechless. An exact copy of the map Zangetsu had just analysed appeared in his hand slowly materializing out of thin air.

 _"Ol' man, since when could you do that?!"_ Ichigo yelled from his inner world.

" _It is but the basic of basic Quincy techniques used in an advanced form. Reassembling atoms in the air into whatever you want. Though you must thoroughly know the structure of what you intend to create."_ Zangetsu quickly explained through the mental link.

" _You have so gotta' teach me how to do that."_ Ichigo said with wide eyes.

" _Once we find a place to stay, I shall teach you everything I know, and trust me when I say this Ichigo, I know every single Quincy technique in existence, so be prepared."_ Ichigo wasn't sure if he was excited at the prospect of learning a new different things or terrified because he knew exactly how Zangetsu taught people . . .He knew it was going to be anything but fun.

Ichigo felt a pulling sensation all over, but before he could question what it was he was flung back into his material body. _"Man, I'm never going to get used to that. . ."_ Ichigo commented dryly stretching his limbs making sure everything was working properly.

"Thanks a lot for your help ol' man, I'll be on my way now." And with that Ichigo leapt into the air causing several sonic booms as he did. Leaving a flabbergasted merchant behind in a giant cloud of dust. _"It seems like the closest major village is east from here. Kirigakure was it? Well I better get there before day is out, I'm tired as hell."_ With much needed extra motivation, Ichigo decided to up his already blinding speeds even further trying to get to his intended destination as fast as he could. After such a hectic and emotionally draining day, who could blame him?

As Ichigo got closer and closer towards his destination he noticed fog began to obscure his vision, and it was getting progressively thicker too. "Just great, how on earth am I supposed to find my way to the village now?" Ichigo groaned out. "I could always fire a giant Getsuga Tenshou at the ground dispelling it, but that'd draw to much attention to myself." Ichigo was too busy contemplating ways of getting rid of the fog he didn't seem to notice a giant presence in front of him before it was too late.

"What the fuc-?!" Was all Ichigo could say before he crashed into the most gooey, spongy and slimy thing he had felt in his entire life. The spiky haired Shinigami ricocheted backwards and skidded across the slippery surface of the foggy forest. He then looked up and nearly choked at what he saw before him.

A giant six tailed slug...

Yep, you heard him correctly.

This thing was the size of a small sky scraper, around 50-60 feet perhaps?

 **"Oh my, did something just hit me?"** For such a giant monster like being, it sure had a very feminine voice was what went through Ichigo's mind, instead of "Holy shit it can talk!" He had seen enough talking animals and monsters to not get weirded out by that by now.

"Sorry about that, it was me." Ichigo said in a loud voice making sure he was heard.

 **"Oh dear I'm truly sorry for blocking your path, I couldn't sense you at all, you must have quite an adept control over your Chakra to make it so you don't even leak out a tiny drop."** The slug commented.

"Ah, well you see, I don't have what you guys call Chakra." This caused the slimy giant to gasp in surprise.

 **"You don't have Chakra? That shouldn't be possible!"** The tailed beast stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, maybe for everyone in this world, but then again I'm not from here." Ichigo responded chuckling slightly.

 **"You're from another dimension then?"** The slug asked, a little too calmly.

"Yeah I am, though I was half expecting you to flip out considering the last people I told that too thought I was some crazy nut job." The substitute Shinigami explained.

 **"My Grandmother could travel between dimensions, so it's not like it's something new for me."**

"Is your Grandmother perhaps someone called Kaguya?" Ichigo asked, he had heard Naruto talk about this person, saying she could travel through dimensions freely, so he could only assume this giant slug's Grandmother was Kaguya.

 **"How do you know that?!"** The slug gasped in surprise.

"Well I heard someone talk about her from the previous village I was in, I think it was called Konohagakure? Yeah something like that." Ichigo replied whilst taking up a thinking position.

 **"Was the person who told you Naruto-san?"**

"Yeah, I'm guessing you two have met before?" The teen asked.

" **Yes, we fought together in the last war to defeat Grandmother." The towering behemoth said, reminiscing about the past. "Oh please forgive me! I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Saiyako, nice to make your acquaintance."** The newly named Saiken lowered one of its giant tailed towards Ichigo.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet you too Saiyako." Ichigo said, awkwardly shaking the tail of the giant slug.

 **"If I may ask, where are you headed?"** Saiyako queried tilting its head to the side.

"Well, I'm heading towards Kirigakure. I need to a place to stay for a while and it was the closest place from Konoha so I thought it'd be the most efficient option." Ichigo answered.

 **"Then may I accompany you?"** Saiyako asked innocently enough.

"I wouldn't mind, but why?" He questioned confusedly.

 **"I'm really bored and lonely here, there's nothing to do at all. Plus every human that comes here runs away from me even though I've never hurt anyone in my life."** Saiyako sobbed. Ichigo was a little taken back, it was extremely odd seeing a tower monster crying its eyes out.

"Hey, I'm fine with you coming along, but don't you think you'd draw a lot of attention to yourself, considering you know. . ." Ichigo trailed of awkwardly.

 **"If you're worried about my appearance, I can change it if you want."** Saiyako told him instantly sounding happy again.

"Please do." To be honest Ichigo wanted nothing more than to stand out, he just wanted to get to Kiri as fast and hassle free as possible. Saiyako immediately was bathed in a light purple light and began shrinking in size until the light dimmed down now revealing, a human? "Wait, what?! You're a girl?!" Ichigo yelled in shock.

"Yep!" Saiyako had transformed into what Ichigo could only assume was her human form, or something along those lines. She had a slender body, slightly pale skin, white hair that was tied up into an intricate design and she also had mesmerizing big blue eyes. She wore a pure white kimono that had frilly sleeves and a larger than normal bow tied the dress together.

"You know, if you used this form more often, people wouldn't run away from you as much..." Ichigo commented.

"Well, I prefer my Bijuu form, it's easy to move in and I'm just used it to." She told him with a matter-of-factly look.

"Bijuu?" The Shingami questioned.

"Yep, that's what we are!"

"We as in plural?" The thought that more of these ginormous behemoths roaming around like nobody's business sent a shiver down ichigo's spine, though if they were all as friendly as Saiken then there was nothing to worry about right?

"Mhm, there are nine of us brothers and sisters, me included." She told him holding up nine fingers to exaggerate her point.

"I see." Ichigo simply stated. "Alright shall we get going then?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"U-um, well you see..." Saiyako began to fidget a little whilst poking her index fingers together.

"What's up?" Ichigo questioned not getting what was wrong with her.

"I-I'm so sorry, but I'm really slow!" The slug Bijuu confessed with an embarrassed red glow covering her pale skin. Ichigo blinked, then again, and suddenly he began to chuckle causing the slug princess's face to darkness even more. "Truthfully speaking, i'm the slowest out of us Bijuu, even my brother Isobu is faster then me! And he's a turtle!" She muttered quietly.

"If that's all then it's no problem." Before she could ask what he meant, she was quickly slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes much to her dismay, ignoring her cries, Ichigo bolted of the ground and began heading towards his original destination. "Oh btw, Saiyako can you point me towards the direction that Kirigakure is in?" Ichigo asked as the soared through the sky.

"It's straight ahead I believe." Saiyako replied having calm down from her initial surprise when Ichigo began to fly and extremely fast at that. She had only seen a handful of people who possessed such a rare ability her father included. This only served to make her more curious about the orange haired enigma. Then again he wasn't from this world so he probably possessed a myriad of abilities that she had never heard of or seen before.

After a while Ichigo could finally see the village coming into view. He breathed a sigh of relief, he could finally get some long needed rest. And just in time too it had begun to get dark. Ichigo didn't know what time it was or if the time here worked the same as back home but if he had to guess it was probably around 8pm. _"I really need to get myself a watch..."_ Ichigo mused.

The Shinigami teen began to descend once he had reached the gate of the city. His sudden arrival from the sky had surprised the guards but they quickly recomposed themselves.

"Halt! State your purpose!" One of the guards questioned with a gruff voice.

"I was wondering if I could stay in this village for a few nights, I don't have a place I can stay." Ichigo asked politely not wanting to lose the opportunity of being granted a place to stay in, he wasn't all too keen about sleeping in the forest.

"Do you have any form of identification on you?" The other guard asked scanning the teen head to toe.

"No I don't, would that stop you guys from allowing me to enter the village?"

"Hmm, not necessarily, but we are on high alert these days, since there have been a few troubling incidents happening as of late." The guard responded with a sigh.

"Really? What's going on?" Ichigo asked curiously, getting a surprised look from both the guards.

"You haven't heard?" The guard asked only for Ichigo to shake his head. "There have been multiple robberies around the elemental nations. The people behind it have been stealing ancient artefacts from each major village and some of the lesser villages too. We are one of the few villages that haven't been robbed, but it seems like it's only a matter of time before whoever is behind it strikes." The guard explained.

" _Ah I see, I hadn't heard anything about that when I was in Konoha, or was it because of those burglary events that they were being so wary of me?_ Ichigo thought to himself after hearing the new information.

"Anyway, since you don't have any form of identification you'll have to go see the Mizukage, she'll help you out." The guard pointed towards the tall blue tower near the centre of the village with the Kanji sign for water boldly painted onto the side.

"Alright, thanks, Saiyako let's go." Ichigo called to his new companion.

"Okay!"

* * *

 **Wew I'm alive.**

 **Sorry about the lack off uploads, I have been studying for college exams and haven't had the time to write, plus I've been having a major case of writer's block, again...**

 **But now all my exams are over and I'm back in the groove so expect more content.**

 **Anyway, for those of you wondering I have decided to change the name of the Rokubi. To me Saiken sounds to masculine and as you might have guessed this is a Saiken x Ichigo fanfic. I'm a big fan of obscure pairings, mainly because I've grown tired of all the mainstream ones. . .**

 **Leave a review will ya? Constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated. Plus it gives me more motivation to keep writing.**

 **Anyway that's all I have to say, leave any questions you have about the story in a review and I'll try and answer them as best as I can.**

 **ForsakenHate out.**


	2. A New Enemy Arises

**I forgot to put a disclaimer in the last chapter, so here it is.**

 **I do not own Naruto or Bleach, there, are you happy?**

* * *

"What's the big idea?" Ichigo growled out.

"As I mentioned earlier, I'm going to steal that thing behind you." The Mizukage repeated with a flat look.

"Mizukage-sama?! What's gotten into you?!" Chojuro yelled frantically. Ichigo tried to analyse the situation as best as he could. He had headed to towards the Mizukage's tower as instructed and ask for temporary residency and the Mizukage seemed to have been complying for the most part, until she noticed Saiyako behind him that is.

The moment she saw her, Ichigo swore he saw her eyes go from emerald green to murky black. And by the way her assistant was frantically trying to stop her, this must not have been what she was normally like. Ichigo didn't have much time to think, as suddenly, Mei started to run her hands through some seals. Ichigo's eyes suddenly widened when a plume of lava spewed out of her mouth and fly right towards him.

He quickly grabbed Saiyako and dodged out the way. _"Shit that was close."_ Thought Ichigo. _"A second later and I might have become a bloody mess on the floor…"_ without wasting any time he quickly summoned both his Zagetsus and dashed right behind the Mizukage with the intent to incapacitate her.

But unfortunately for him he was quickly parried by the blue haired man with shark like teeth. "P-please stop! Don't harm her, she isn't normally like this!" Chojuro pleaded trying his best to stand up against ichigo's monstrous strength.

To his surprise Ichigo grabbed him by the shirt and threw him to the side, then quickly, the Shinigami swiped his blade swatting the lava upwards onto the ceiling that had been previously aiming to take both Chojuro and Ichigo out both at once.

"M-Mizukage-sama?" Was all the shocked boy could utter. He had just witnessed the woman he had devoted all his life to work under and protect, try and reduce him to molten ashes.

"Hey kid, stop gawking like an idiot and get the hell outa here! I'll deal with her!" Ichigo roared across the room still fending off more streams of lava.

"P-please don't hurt her too much, I'll try and get help!" He steeled his resolve dash straight out of the room.

"Alright lady, I don't know what the hell your problem is, but I'm gonna have to kick your ass." Ichigo stated confidently.

"Hoh? Is that so? Then how about this?!" Mei then began to quickly race through a different set of hand seals before she took a deep breath. Ichigo expected more lava to come rushing out of her mouth, but he was surprised to see steam instead, which was oddly disappointing to him. The lava looked a lot more threatening in his opinion.

But before he could think about that any further he suddenly felt like he was being burnt alive, as if his skin was boiling of his body. _"Super-heated steam?!"_ Ichigo thought whilst reflexively activating his Blut to protect himself from any further damage. Not wanting to stay on the defensive Ichigo charged forward and cocked his fist backwards before smashing it right into the Mizukage's stomach causing her to blast straight out of the tower and land all the way over to the far side of the village near the gates.

"Ichigo, I think you may have over done it…" Saiyako commented dryly look at the destruction a single punch from the teen had caused.

"I tried to hold back as much as I could." Ichigo responded surprising the Bijuu. "Though I can still sense her, so she must be alive, so its fine."

"Ichigo your skin is peeling off on your face!" Gasped Saiyako, noticing all the scorch marks that littered his face.

"Ah yeah, that steam she used was insanely hot, but don't worry I ca-" He was cut off when he saw Saiyako form a bubble in-between her hands, before letting it go. It slowly drifted towards Ichigo landing directly onto his wound. Less than a second later, the bubble popped and ichigo's wound had been healed to the point where not even the tiniest remnant a scar remained.

"Woah, you can heal wounds?!" Ichigo asked, clearly impressed.

"Of course! I don't mean to brag, but I have the best healing techniques in all the elemental nations. I can pretty much heal any wound in an instant as long as the patient is still alive!" She stated with a prideful smile. "But that doesn't mean you should go around getting injured mister!" She scolded noticing ichigo's relieved look.

"Haha, I'll _try_ not to get too many injuries." Ichigo replied sheepishly, putting emphasis on the try part.

"Ichigo, aren't you forgetting something?" Saiyako asked poking him in the chest causing his eyes to widen in realization.

"Oh shit, I forgot! The Mizukage!" Ichigo spun on his heel and leapt right off the edge of the Kage tower and headed towards the direct he had sent the Mizukage flying. When he arrived he noticed Mei was still inside the crater lying lifelessly. _"No way, did I kill her?"_ Ichigo began to panic, if he had accidently killed her, he'd have all of Kirigakure on his back for the rest of his life, things didn't look too good.

Fortunately for the fiery haired teen the Mizukage started moving, though not in a healthy manner. Her previously lifeless body started to spasm violently as black liquid gush out of her mouth like a fountain.

" _That doesn't look good."_ After a few seconds the spasms died down and the black muck that had been seeping out of the Kage's mouth slowly took human form. "Who the hell are you?!" Ichigo questioned with a snarl.

"Hmm, does it matter who I am?" The tall fully cloaked figure questioned in a playful mocking tone.

"I guess not, since you're gonna die right here." Ichigo retorted with a scowl. The man was so heavily clothed in black robes he couldn't even make out a single feature. Did he have Scoptophobia or something?

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" The black hooded man flicked his wrists, pulling what looked like to be a short black Wakizashi with a red hilt and guard, wasting no time he dashed right towards Ichigo aiming for his throat. The Shinigami quickly intercepted the attack with his Khyber like blade and tried to knee the cloaked intruder in the stomach only for him to jump nimbly away.

Ichigo didn't get a chance to breathe as he was assaulted by a flurry of Shuriken which he skilfully deflected with his longer sword.

"You are quite skilful, for a brat." The cloaked man complimented, though Ichigo couldn't tell if it was a compliment of a sarcastic insult. "It seems I'm going to have to get a little more serious." Before Ichigo could retort he felt a spike of what could only be Chakra.

" **Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku!"** A giant tidal wave of flames raced towards the teen scorching the earth as it did.

" _Shit, if I dodge the civilians behind me will get roasted to death! I've got no other choice!"_ bringing his shorted sword up to waist height Ichigo made a horizontal swiping motion.

In an instant a torrent of light blue Reiryoku blasted its way towards the sea of flames completely nullifying it, though it didn't stop there, once it tore through the raging inferno it continued surging forward with immense speed.

" _Such power."_ The man marvelled. He quickly slammed his hand into the ground and yelled, **Doton: Doryuuheki!** This in turn caused a large portion of the earth to tilt upwards. When ichigo's attack met the slab of earth it was redirected into the sky, parting the clouds in the sky as it did. "I must say, I'm thoroughly impressed. Never have I seen such an attack like that." The intruder admitted casually.

"Kurosaki-san! I've brought reinforcements!" Chojuro appeared next to Ichigo in a swirl of water along with about 10 other people all wearing blue masks. Each representing a different sea animal it seemed.

"Seems like I'm outnumbered." Stated the mysterious man.

"So you gonna flee with your tail between your legs?" Ichigo retorted with a smirk.

"How can I flee from this place, when I'm not actually here?" Before they could ask what he meant the man started too crumbled into dust, leaving only a pile of black soot behind.

"A bunshin?!" Chojuro gasped. Ichigo was just as confused as the blue haired teen.

" _People can make freaking clones of themselves? This world is fucking nuts."_ Ichigo had seen some crazy things in his time but the stuff people were pulling out in this world was on a whole other level.

"Mizukage-sama!" Chojuro dashed over to the seemingly lifeless body of the auburn haired woman frantically checking for a pulse. To his relief she was alive, but barely. He quickly ordered the masked men behind him to get her to the medical facility as fast as possible. The assistant then turned towards Ichigo and bowed deeply. "Thank you very much for saving the Mizukage, I owe you a debt of gratitude that I may never be able to repay!" He spoke sincerely.

"If that's the case, you can repay me by letting me stay here for the night, I could use some sleep." Ichigo told him yawning as he did. "Two rooms would be nice, one for Saiyako as well."

"I-is that all you want? No money? Just a place to sleep?" He asked with a surprised look, causing Ichigo to take up a thinking position.

"Now that you mention it, I could use a little money for food once I head out again." The teen requested after a moment of thinking.

"Alright then, I shall prepare it for you right away, if there is anything else you require please feel free to ask." With that the spiky toothed teen disappeared in a swirl of water.

"Haaah, today was tiring as hell…" Ichigo groaned out as he slumped his shoulders forward. He had completely ran out of energy, all he wanted to do now was to collapse on a nice soft bed and sleep for a month.

* * *

Unknown Location.

"You're back earlier than planned, _Kyouji_ …" A gruff, inhumane voice echoed through a dark cavern.

"Well, there was an unexpected miscalculation, so it couldn't be help." Spoke the fully black cladded man as he briskly made his way into their hideout.

"Oh? What happened?" Asked the shadowy figure curiously.

"Well, a certain orange haired boy managed to stop me from acquiring the Rokubi." Kyouji answered honestly.

"A single boy stopped you? I find that hard to believe." The unknown figured scoffed.

"It's true, he was extremely formidable, and I could tell he was holding a lot back. The funny thing was he had no Chakra, quite the peculiar specimen if I do say so myself…" The hooded man could only grin in anticipation. _"It seemed things are getting rather interesting"_ He thought to himself, almost giddily. "Anyway, how things on your end, _Akutoku?"_

"Unlike you, I have already capture the Nibi and I am already in the process of capturing the Gobi." The newly named Akutoku Boasted. "And I managed to steal 3 of the 5 artefacts from different hidden villages, now we only need 2 more, which only leaves the ones at Konoha and Kiri."

"Oh my, you sure are competent~" Kyouji retorted sarcastically, causing his partner to growl in annoyance.

"Shut your annoying trap you worthless swine! You better capture the Rokubi at the next chance you get, and don't let some carrot haired punk get in your way either, otherwise the boss is going to kill you!" Akutoku snarled causing Kyouji to wave him off.

"No need to get so angry my friend, I'll be sure to capture it in due time. After all, this is all for the sole purpose of completing _that_ plan." Kyouji spoke ominously before slowly disappearing in a swirl of black smoke and ash.

Next day with Ichigo and Saiyako.

It was 2pm and Ichigo had just had the most relaxing night ever, is what he wanted to say. But his night had been anything but relaxing… After he and Saiyako managed to get a place to sleep at a local inn. He had fallen to sleep with relative ease, what the annoying thing was, was the fact that he kept being plagued by nightmares.

He saw the same scene repeating itself, over and over again. A scene where he'd be defeated by Yhwach, and then left to slowly die whilst watching everything he held dear be reduce to nothingness. Every time the morbid dreams ended, he'd always wake up in cold sweat panting as if he had been running a marathon.

"Ichigo, are you alright? You were screaming in your sleep last night, I could even hear you all the way from my room." Saiyako asked with a concerned look as they headed downstairs to get breakfast.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about. Just a few bad dreams is all." Ichigo replied waving her concern off.

"Well, if you say so…" And with that they were left in a comfortable silence, simply just enjoying their prepared meal and each other's company.

Once they had finished their meals, Ichigo and Saiyako headed towards the market district. Saiyako had told Ichigo that they could use a few sets of clothes to change into. Ichigo didn't really see the point but he was dragged along anyway.

"Hmm, that blue haired guy gave us some money, but I have no idea what the currency in this world is or how it works…" Ichigo mused fiddling with the bag of money in his hands.

"That's fine, I can handle that." The Bijuu told him taking the bag from him before quickly counting the amount inside. "So the boy gave us 100,000 Ryo, that's quite a lot. He must have felt truly indebted to you after you saved the Mizukage." She mused aloud. "Anyway, let's go to that shop over there!"

Before Ichigo new it he had become a bag carrying slave. Though he couldn't complain since Saiyako was just trying her best to get some supplies ready for the next time they headed out which would most likely be later today. They had bought 2 sets of clothes for each of them and some rations, such as energy bars and nutrient supplements. They also found a watch, which Ichigo was quite pleased about. Now he didn't have to try and guess the time by looking at the sun.

"Hey Saiyako, that guy from before said he wanted to capture you? Do you know why that is?" Ichigo decided it was a better time than ever to ask the question that had been on his mind for a while.

"I believe he may be after me because, essentially what I am is a giant mass of sentient Chakra, if he is after me then that would also mean there's a high chance that he might be after my brothers and sisters too…" Saiyako explained with a worried look.

"Next time I see that bastard, I'll be sure to rip him a new one." Ichigo growled out. He didn't like the idea of some deranged guy trying to cage other living things for his own benefit, it just didn't sit right with him. As they continued with their idle chatter Ichigo noticed Chojuro making his way up to them.

"K-Kurosaki-san, Saiyako-san, good afternoon." The timid teen greeted shyly.

"Good evening…"Ichigo trailed off.

"Ah, sorry I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Chojuro of the Seven Swordsmen of The Mist, nice to meet you." He said taking a slight bow.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo and this is Saiyako, nice to meet you too Chojuro." Ichigo replied taking a small bow as well, followed by Saiyako. "So what's up Chojuro?" The dual wielder asked trying to start a conversation.

"I was wondering how long you two would be staying." The meek boy asked.

"Well, I was thinking about heading out later today, why do you ask?" Ichigo inquired.

"W-well I was wondering if you could stay an extra day or two. The Mizukage wishes to speak with you. She should be out of the hospital by tomorrow, so I was wondering if you two wouldn't mind staying an extra day." Ichigo made a "Hmm" Sound before he replied.

"Sure, I got something I gotta' do as well, this will give me an excuse to get it over with."

"G-great! I'll inform her right away!" With that the youngest of the Seven Swordsmen dashed off to the hospital.

"What is this something you wish to do Ichigo?" Saiyako asked curiously.

"It's training, Zangetsu said he would teach me how to use a certain technique he demonstrated before me and you met." Ichigo briefly summarized to her.

"Zangetsu?" She repeated tilting her to the side.

"Ah, you haven't met him have you? Well when we find an open space I'll introduce you to him." Ichigo replied with a knowing smirk. She was definitely going to be surprised with what she was going to see.

Northern outskirts of Kiri.

" _This place will do."_ Ichigo had found a large grassy plain just north of Kiri. It was a little damp and foggy but it was a perfect place for training. Ichigo glanced around checking if anyone was watching and noticed no one other than Saiyako. He manifested his shorter black blade in his left hand before quickly tossing it in the air.

It spiraled in mid-air for a moment before it glowed a light blue and morphed into the form of a human. Ichigo could only smirk when he heard the surprised gasp coming from behind him, which undoubtedly belong to Saiyako.

"So I assume you wish to hone your Quincy Techniques, Ichigo?" The Yhwach clone asked knowingly.

"Yeah, since we got a whole day to burn I was thinking you could teach me how to do that thing you did before, where you made a replica of that map." Ichigo asked with a slight hint of excitement in his voice.

"Very well." The aged man nodded. "But first we need to talk about the principle, and theory behind this technique." Ichigo nodding in understanding letting Zangetsu continue. "The idea behind this technique is to manipulate the Reiryoku in the air and give it a tangible form. But you must have a clear understanding of what you intend to create, and a clear mental picture too." Zangetsu paused to let Ichigo absorb the information.

"So for example if I wanted to make water, all I'd need to know is that it's made out of H2O, whilst also having a clear imagine in my mind?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yes, but that is only part of it. While something as simple as water requires minimal effort and knowledge to produce. If you wanted to replicate a weapon, take a sword for example. You would have to know the reason why the Sword was created in the first place, what's its purpose. Otherwise it is just a piece of metal with no cutting edge." Zangetsu explained.

"I don't quite get what you mean by purpose." Ichigo replied honestly.

"Ichigo, what is a sword used for?" Zangetsu questioned.

"For attacking someone?" His simple answer caused Zangetsu to sigh.

"A sword isn't simply made for attacking. It defends, cuts, and most of all it kills. That is the true nature of a sword."

"Ah I see, so knowing the purpose of what I intend to create is just as important as knowing its composition?"

"Precisely."

"Alright then, I got something I want to try out." Ichigo stated taking a deep breath. He extended his arm and began to concentrate. Slowly but surely wisps of light blue energy began to gather into the palm of his hand. At this point a few beads of sweat began to form on Ichigo's brow, due to the sheer amount of concentration it took. _"Seriously? How did Zangetsu make this look so easy?"_ Ichigo thought to himself.

A second later, the cluster of Reiryoku burst apart blasting Ichigo backwards as it did. "Damn…That hurts like hell." Ichigo grunted, lying flat on his back.

"Are you alright?" Saiyako questioned giving him a hand.

"Yeah I'm fine, this technique is harder than it looks, that's for sure." Ichigo sighed taking the slug Bijuu's hand and hoisting himself up into a standing position once again.

"You had the concept down, but you were forcing the Reiryoku too much. You need to let it flow into your hands and not try and bend it to your will. Think less about the Reiryoku and more about the object you intend to create." Zangetsu explained.

With that fact cleared up Ichigo tried again. This time he did as Zangetsu instructed and let the Reiryoku come to him whilst he imagined a clear mental imagine of what he wanted to materialize. To his shock, almost instantly an exact replica of both his Zangetsus appeared in his hands. There were key differences he noticed about the forgeries.

They felt weaker and more brittle, they didn't exude overwhelming power like the originals did. They just felt like regular weapons. Ichigo found it rather irksome, he had been wielding the real Zangetsus for a long time and holding these two blades felt extremely out of place for him.

"Well done Ichigo, you managed to grasp the technique on your second attempt, I'm quite impressed." Zangetsu praised.

"Well I figured since I know you guys a lot I thought it would be the easiest thing I could create." Ichigo explained a little sheepishly. Zangetsu nodded in understanding. He had to start somewhere, so might as well start with something you were comfortable with and then work your way up.

For the remainder of the day, Ichigo had been training to improve the time in which it took to create the objects he wanted, he also tried to make different things, such as; Long Swords, Spears, Lances and even daggers, though the weapons were extremely fragile he could still find some use for them in battle. He also found out that once he created them he could freely manipulate them with a simple mental command. He had to admit it was truly a fascinating and handy ability.

Night time later the same day.

The spiky haired teen lay exhausted on the ground, taking in huge gulps of air. _"Never again."_ Was all that he was thinking right now. You might be wondering what he was referring too. To put it simply, it was Zangetsu's hell like training. He had not let Ichigo take even a single break, always telling him to get up and try again when he failed to do something, or had been beaten down.

Once Ichigo had gotten the basics of the technique Zangetsu had told him to put it into practice in actual combat. And to put it bluntly, it was hard as hell.

Concentrating on your opponent whilst trying to create a mental imagine of the weapons you wanted to create _and_ simultaneously moulding the flow of Reiryoku was no easy task. It had been mentally and physically draining to say the least.

"Ichigo, I forgot to mention something." Zangetsu said walking up to the exhausted teen.

"What's that?" Ichigo questioned turning his head to face his mentor.

"I forgot you aren't just a Quincy." Ichigo would have tripped in a comedic fashion right then and there if it hadn't been for the fact he was already on the floor.

"What the heck do you mean? How could you even forget that?!" Ichigo yelled up at the aged weapon.

"I have been teaching you how to use Heilige Gebilde as a Quincy and not as a Shinigami." Seeing the confused look Ichigo was giving him, he decided to elaborate. "I'm sure you've heard the fact that Quincy's cannot produce Reiatsu or Reiryoku right?" Ichigo nodded, he had been told by Kisuke about that a few years ago, he had also noticed that fact too when he fought the Quincy's. "Since you're a Shinigami you don't need to use foreign Reiryoku to create things with the Heilige Gebilde technique, you can simply use your own, which should be a lot easier for you to handle since it is your own."

Ichigo face palmed, who knew Zangetsu could make mistakes or even forget something as important as that? Ichigo sure as hell didn't.

"I shall take my leave then, it's getting late so make sure to rest up." Zangetsu spoke before dissipating into shreds of blue light.

"Wow, Zangetsu-san sure is a strict teacher, I thought you were going to die at one point." Laughed Saiyako as she walked over to him with a smile.

"Haha, laugh at my pain why don't you." Ichigo grumbled with fake anger. He got up and dusted himself off, he then took a quick glance at his watch and noticed it was already 1am. They had been out here for quite a long time it seemed.

"We should head back to the inn, it's really late." Said the teen. Saiyako just yawned in a very un-lady like fashion, causing Ichigo to chuckle.

"Oh btw Ichigo, you did show me who Zangetsu was but _what_ exactly is he?" Saiyako questioned through a yawn.

"He's my weapon, the shorter one to be precise. The longer one is another Zangetsu, who's a total prick." Ichigo explained. He swore he heard the white clad Zangetsu curse him from his inner world.

"So you have sentient weapons, that really is something amazing." She comment.

"To be more precise, they are both me, though just different aspects of my power and my desires." Ichigo told her holding both the blades in his hands giving her a good look.

"I wonder which one's your carnal desires, perhaps the longer one maybe? Ufufu~." Ichigo's face instantly turned beet red before he started to sputter things incoherently, only to be laughed at some more by the Slug Princess.

The pair continued to exchanged banter and idle chatter whilst heading towards the inn to get a good night's rest, neither of them notice a near invisible presence watching them intently from the shadows.

" _So this is the kid huh? Very interesting…"_

* * *

Next morning.

"Hey Saiyako hurry up, we gotta go meet the Mizukage in about 10 minutes!" Ichigo yelled from outside her room, tapping his foot impatiently as he did. Seriously, why did all girls take so long getting dress? It was probably one of life's greatest mysterious.

Today, instead of wearing his black shihakusho Ichigo was now sporting the clothes that Saiyako had picked up for him. He had a deep red t-shirt on with the number 15 firmly planting near the left breast, a white zip down hoodie, black combat trousers and a matching pair of black pumps.

5 minutes later, Saiyako emerged from her room finally ready to go, much to Ichigo's relief. She had also changed out of her immaculate white kimono into some fresh new clothes. She adorned a stripy black and white t-shirt, which rested under a creamy coloured cardigan. She had a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a pair of red sneakers to finish the look.

"You know Ichigo, it's not very gentlemanly telling a girl to hurry up when she's getting ready." Saiyako scolded the teen with a stern look, both hands on her hips. Ichigo could only sigh. He lazily replied with a simple "Whatever" before continuing walking down the path towards the hospital.

"I wonder what the Mizukage wants to talk about, since you've already been rewarded for your efforts, what else could she possible want to see you about?" Saiyako questioned, resting a delicate finger on her chin as she did.

"Who knows? Maybe she knows something about that guy who attacked us?" Ichigo said shrugging his shoulders.

After a few minutes of walking, the duo arrived at the room where Mei was being treated. Ichigo entered first, he noticed Mei sitting upright in her bed looking peacefully out the window.

"Mei, you asked for us?" Ichigo spoke trying to gain her attention. She turned her head to face her visitors and offered a friendly smile.

"Ah yes, I do believe I asked Chojuro for both of you to see me today, I have something of upmost importance to discuss with you two." She explained motioning for them both to take a seat.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"First I'd like to confirm something, Saiyako-san, are you a Bijuu?" The question nearly threw both Ichigo and Saiyako of their seats. "Before you ask how I know, I'd like to remind you that I'm a Kage level Shinobi and I have witnessed battles between Bijuu before, and your Chakra is undeniably that of one."

"It's true, I am the Rokubi." Saiyako honestly admitted. In all honestly she expected Mei to tell her to leave her village or even try and capture her to use her as a weapon. But none of that happened, instead she received a smile from the Mizukage.

"Thank you for being so honest, I just wanted to confirm that, that is all. You don't have to worry about me trying to capture you, the times where humans enslaved your kind is long gone." She said easing the Bijuu's worries.

"What do you mean by enslaving?" Ichigo asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

"You don't know?" Mei asked, her voice filled with surprise only for him to shake his head. "When the elemental nations first established themselves with hidden villages, the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju shared the Bijuu between each village as a peace treaty." Mei explained briefly.

"So what you're saying is, you captured beings that had their own _will_ and just enslaved them because it was convenient for you?" Ichigo spat angrily. Mei lowered her head in shame upon hearing that, sure she wasn't the one who had done it, but her predecessor had set down that law and she had followed it through without thinking much about it.

"Well, it's all in the past now, so why don't we just let it go?" Saiyako interjected trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere.

"I know, we have made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we're trying to rectify them as best as we can." Mei spoke with a new fiery passion, causing Ichigo to sigh.

"Well that's good, just don't try that sort of shit again and we'll be alright." He told her with a small smile.

"Ah, it seems we have gone a bit off topic, let's get onto the main reason why I called you here." The auburn haired Kage said. "Last night Chojuro explained the situation to me. It seems I had been under control by that hooded man you fended off."

"Yeah, it seemed that way, at the time I was really confused as to why you randomly became hostile." Ichigo admitted.

"For what it's worth, I am truly sorry about such an inconvenience and putting you both in danger like that." She apologised lowering her head as she did.

"You don't need to worry about it, no one got hurt so its fine." Ichigo told her. "Do you know who that person was, or why he attacked?" Ichigo questioned, trying to keep the flow of the conversation going.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but after what you saw the other day I believe I have no choice, please make sure not to tell anyone, you too Saiyako-san." Requested Mei seriously.

"Our lips are sealed." Ichigo replied.

"Lately there have been a strange group of people targeting certain ancient artefacts from all the major villages, along with the Tailed beats too. We have no idea what their objective is but it can't be anything good." The Lava release user briefly summarized.

"Ichigo, didn't the guards tell us something like that when we first arrived at the village?" Saiyako mentioned thinking back to that event.

"Oh yeah they did, didn't they? It was the reason why all the major villages are on high alert right?" Ichigo said, also remembering that discussion.

"Yes indeed." Mei confirmed.

"By the way, what are these artefacts everyone keeps mentioning?" Ichigo asked, he had heard both Mei and the guards speak about them, but he didn't know what they actually were.

"They are five keys, their original origin is completely unknown. When they were found they were considered scarred and were shared between each of the major village as a symbol of power and long lasting peace. Though that is all I know about them, as for why these people are stealing them I have no clue." Mei confessed sighing in frustration.

"Well, when the time comes I guess I'll just have to kick their asses." Ichigo stated as it was the most simple of solutions.

"You know, you remind me of Naruto-san, Ichigo." Saiyako commented, letting a small giggle out.

"I do?" Ichigo asked with a quirked brow.

"Yep, you're both headstrong idiots, who don't think a single thing through!" She laughed, causing Ichigo to growl at her.

"We'll see who's laughing when I wipe the floor with those punks and show 'em who's boss." Ichigo replied stubbornly.

"Is that so? Maybe I'll have to take them down before you do~. Saiyako shot back with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, you are so on!" The conversation Ichigo and Saiyako were having over such a serious matter only served to leave Mei stunned out of her mind. These two were making a sport out of a matter that could put the entire Shinobi world at jeopardy. "Mei, don't sweat it, humans normally come together when their existence is being questioned. So even if these guys try something funny, I'm pretty sure all the elemental nations will unite to try and stop it." Ichigo reassured the flabbergasted Kage.

"Who knew you were so philosophical Ichigo, you're just my type plus, you're handsome to boot." Mei stated flirtatiously giving him a quick wink, causing Ichigo's cheeks to redden.

"Ooh someone's face has gone completely red~." Saiyako teased with a sly smirk.

"Shut it." Ichigo grumbled under his breath, muttering something about stupid Slugs.

* * *

 **And the second chapter is done!**

 **I'm really glad this story got so much love so quickly. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and those guest reviewers that I can't reply to, thank you as well.**

 **If there are an Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works fans here, you probably have noticed how similar the Heilige Gebilde (Meaning: Holy Construct) is to Archer's Unlimited Blade Works. I simply drew inspiration from that and incorporated into Ichigo's Quincy** **abilities.**

 **If you guys have any questions about the story feel free to ask, as long as it doesn't involve me giving you spoilers that is.**

 **Also someone asked for another Naruto girl to be paired with Ichigo. To that I say, just be patient I have someone in mind.**

 **Anyway, as always please leave a review.**

 **ForsakenHate out.**


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